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Ooohhh ... Cambodia ... (Part Two!)
Once we actually arrived at our destination in Cambodia, the most difficult part became figuring out the money system! Cambodian currency is the Riel and the exchange rate is about 4000 Riel to 1 US Dollar. Sounds simple, no? It would be, if there weren't a crazy system of mixing up Dollar and Riel! For anything under a dollar, prices are quoted in Riel (so 1000R = $0.25, 2000R = $0.50, etc), but anything more than that is quoted in dollars. Say some noodles are a $1.25 ... that means they want 1US Dollar and 1000R. It's not actually that complicated once you get used to it, but it was mind boggling to start with!!!
We arrived in Phnom Pen just in time to celebrate Khmer New Year with the Dutch friends we made Bangkok. Khmer New Year is celebrated by throwing baby powder at random strangers and/or squirting them with water. We're not sure where either tradition comes from, but when we went downtown to join in the festivities we were promptly welcomed with a faceful of talcum! The city pretty much shuts down during New Years though (for a whole week!)
Good Friends
You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours ... and after a month of sitting around Thailand beaches twiddling our thumbs, we were anxious for some action and decided to leave early and headed south to Kampot and Sihanoukville with Team Holland.
Sihanoukville was not quite what we expected. There really wasn't a lot to do, we tried a snorkelling trip, but the water was too murky to really see anything and the beaches aren't much compared to Thailand! Beach vendors are of a different variety in Cambodia though!! "No" does not mean "no" in this country. It means "Oh, maybe you didn't hear me?" or "You don't want a mango? Maybe a pineapple? A bracelet? Some Prawns? Massage? Deep Fried Lobster??" Or, if it is in response to "Lady, you want me to shave your legs?!", no usually means "Maybe I should just start to rub her legs in disapproval??!!". Not kidding!!! It was a rather ackward situation!!!
Another rather ackward situation came on the bus from Sihanoukville to Siem Riep. Before we buy a bus ticket, we make sure to ask that we have our own personal seat, air conditioning and a toilet onboard. On this trip though, after we'd been on the road for
a few hours and needed the loo, we were greeted with a sign on the door that said "Urinating Only Please". Ha! We didn't think to ask if we could go Number One AND Number Two onboard the bus (and they didn't feel the need to share)! Only in Cambodia!! Our mission in Siem Riep was to see the mother of all temples ... Ankor Wat!!! This (as well as that dodgy border crossing) is where the Cambodian government really knows how to make their money ... a day pass to see the temples costs $20 per person!! There are many temples to see, and some people come for a few days, but we're not the biggest temple buffs and one day was more than enough for us! Our favorite temple was Ta Phrom, also known as the Tomb Raider temple. It has been taken over by the jungle and gigantic tree roots have sprouted everywhere. Honorable mention goes to Bayon, the temple of faces. It consists about about 160 giant faces carved from rock and no matter where you are standing the faces are watching! It's kinda creepy, but kinda cool. And then of course, we saw The Big
Kahuna ... The Head Cheese Master ... The Bosslady Herself ... Ankor Wat! And it's BIG! Much bigger than any of the other temples, but in our opinion it's not necessarily the most impressive because there is not as much to see and it's quite crowded (allowing for fewer moments to stand in awe or appreciation).
We finished off our time in Cambodia with another week in Phnom Pen. We spent time at The Killing Fields and S21 (Security Prison 21), both were quite disturbing. Of about 20,000 who were sent to S21, less than a dozen survived. The Khmer Rouge were meticulous in record keeping (much like the Nazi's), so there was an overwhelming amount of evidence to the crimes that went on during the war. Today the Killing Fields look like a nice park, but after a trip to S21, it was difficult to appreciate the beauty knowing how many people were murdered there. Both experiences were quite sombering, and we left feeling quite perturbed and heavy hearted. We've now seen evidence from genocides a half century (Germany), a quarter century (Cambodia) and a decade ago (Rwanda). Each one sends the message of "Never Again" and pleads
with future generations to open their eyes ... but it's still happening. It's happening in Burma and in Africa. It felt to us as though the world has learned nothing and we left feeling quite bitter and overwhelmed.
That's about it for Cambodia. This hasn't been our favorite country to date (that would be Rwanda and Turkey), but it wasn't our least favorite either (that would be Greece)! The food is a little less diverse than Thailand and finding "non shady" meals for Kristena has been a challenge. Cambodians eat just about anything, including dogs, so that has ruled out all meat for her (because she thinks they might be trying to trick her). Apparently dog is more expensive than beef, so the chances of that are unlikely, but with all the mangey mutts running around ... vegetables it is!! Traffic has been entertaining ... the "stuffed sausage" vans we wrote about before are a daily occurance, as are just about anything with 2 wheels and a place to sit! It's been interesting to see what passes as a "vehicle" and the creativity involved in loading/stacking/balancing them. There also doesn't seem to be much logic when it comes to
rules of the road ... everyone drives in every direction ... we wouldn't dare rent a scooter!!! And lastly, truthfully, the begging is really starting to get to us. We're feeling like we can't really connect with any of the locals because every conversation leads back to the same thing .... money money money. Our experience is turning out to be that people aren't interested in a "cultural exchange" or whatever you want to call it. They want to talk and be nice ... and then they want money. We sat and talked to a Monk at Ankor Wat for about an hour, and before we left even he dropped the money bomb. Argh!!
That's all kids! Now onto Vietnam!!!
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Maria
non-member comment
great pic!
Trevor, I love that picture of you with your hear touching the roof!